HOLLYWOOD’S MOST PROLIFIC PREDATOR?
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Hollywood’s Top 30 Real Estate Agents Facing Market Headwinds
FRED BERNSTEIN WESTSIDE E STATE AGENCY
$225M
SANTIAGO ARANA THE AGENCY
One of the rare teams to sell more than $1 billion a year, brothers Josh and Matt Altman of Million Dollar Listing: L.A. fame have recently represented Rams coach Sean McVay, Britney Spears and Scooter Braun, whose purchase of a $65 mil lion mansion set a record-high for Brentwood. “Working with my brother is sort of the ultimate family dream,” Matt says. Current big listing: Full House cre ator Jeff Franklin’s $70 million mansion.
ROCHELLE ATLAS MAIZE NOURMAND & ASSOCIATES
Edited by Degen Pener • Written by Hadley Meares and Virginia Smith
side of my brain … the creative side and the marketing side.” But she still applies her financial expertise and considers herself a “real estate wealth adviser.” She recently repped the sale of the late Kirk Douglas’ estate, which went for $1.5 mil lion above its asking price of $7.5 million. To date, she has sold more than $3 billon in real estate.
JOSH AND MATT ALTMAN DOU GLAS ELLIMAN
James Harris and David Parnes repped Rihanna in a sale of a inspiredMediterranean-houseinthehills.
$6.6M
fter the banner year of 2021, L.A.’s high-end real estate market is seeing challenges, including some softening of prices, continued low inventory and rising interest rates (an average 30-year fixed mortgage rate today is about 5.8 percent compared with about 2.9 percent a year ago). “It will take some time for buyers to acclimate to the interest rate increases; it’s all cyclical,” says Hilton & Hyland’s Justin Paul Huchel. But for L.A.’s top agents, these setbacks are an opportunity to refocus on a core value: finding clients their perfect home. Despite the market softening, agents profess that they aren’t worried. According to Redfin, the median sale in Beverly Hills still clocks in at $3.8 million, up 15.4 per cent from last year. And agents aren’t hurting financially, either. Although marketing, staff and office space must be factored in, many of the area’s highestperforming agents can expect to make $5 million to $10 million a year (according to one person on this list), while those on the rung below net $2 million to $5 mil lion. For the 2022 list of the top 30 agents in L.A., THR considered sales volume, MLS-listed sales to Hollywood clients and media visibility to make its selections. (Celebrity sales info is sourced from public records unless other wise noted.)
SELLING L.A.
past year, repped former Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff in the purchase of Matt Damon’s $18 million Palisades spread. “With the high-profile indi viduals, you’re dealing with business managers, attorneys, a lot of people, which can become a challenge,” he says. “But it’s also great, right? It opens up doors.”
BLAIR CHANG THE AGENCY
A
J. Altman M.
Chang
Kurt Rappaport holds the listing on Michael Eisner’s ninebuildingcompound.Malibu
For Atlas Maize, real estate is a second career. “I was a wealth adviser special izing in commodity and stock trading, so totally a numbers person,” she says. “Real estate has allowed me to use the other
A WEA partner, Bernstein is helping casino mogul Steve Wynn find a buyer for his $100 million Beverly Hills estate, and he represented Participant’s Jeff Skoll in his $33 million sale of two side-by-side homes in Beverly Hills to Byron Allen.
An agent for 22 years (after a career in advertising), Chang is a co-founder of The Agency and, following in the footsteps of his mother, is a second-generation realtor. With $166 million in sales in the past year, he repped the seller in Scooter Braun’s $65 million purchase. The prop erty was only on the market for 10 days. However, in 2022, Chang has noticed a
AtlasAranaAltmanMaizeBernstein SEPTEMBER 6, 2022THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 60 GAMBINOCOURTESY.LISTING:PARNESANDHARRISAARON.PETERLISTING:RAPPAPORTPHOTOGRAPHY.BERLYNLISTING:JONESFORSTER SUBJECT.OFCOURTESYHEADSHOTS:ADDITIONALPHOTOGRAPHY.LINDBERGCOURTNEYARANA:BARCELO.ANTHONYLISTING: Real Estate Style
Arana, who sold $581 million in the
After the major rises in recent years, brokers in Los Angeles are contending with challenges including higher interest rates: ‘It is making buyers more circumspect’
Gambino has $330 million in transac tions this year thanks in part to his ability to cater to clients across sev eral hot markets (L.A., New York, the Hamptons and Miami), as he is licensed in three states. “We’re able to diversify our clients’ portfolios with assets on both coasts. We recently sold a client’s home on [Miami’s] Fisher Island for a recordbreaking price, $21.25 million, and then found them a home in California,” says Gambino, who closed deals in the past year for Renée Zellweger and Sean Combs
Carl beautymodernistrecentlyGambinosoldahouseforentrepreneurCassandraGrey. $7.5M The Brentwood Oasis, sold by Sally Forster bedroomsincludesJones,sevenandisseton1.26acres. $44M
CH RIS CORTAZZO COMPASS
IKEM CHUKUMERIJE THE IKEM CO.
It’s been a typical year for Fenton, mean ing that he completed deals for a dizzying number of big names, including Chelsea Handler, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, and model Miranda Kerr and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel (who spent $120 million in an off-market Holmby Hills deal). He also co-listed a Paul Williams house bought by Kevin Feige for $52 million and is one of the agents on the $165 million listing of The Manor, built by Aaron Spelling. Notes Fenton, “Touring the most incredible estates in the city is the best gift, and I am grateful every day.”
SALLY FORSTER JONES COMPASS
Fridman, perhaps best known as the go-to agent for the Kardashians (even appearing on their new Hulu show), has completed deals in the past year for the NBA’s Tristan Thompson as well as Kanye West . He also co-sold Sylvester Stallone’s Beverly Park home to Adele for $58 million. “We’re seeing sellers reeling in some of the expectations,” he says of the current market, “but still achieving record-breaking values for their homes.”
CARL GAMBINO COMPASS
SEPTEMBER 6, 2022THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 61
dearth of appropriate “sanctuaries” for his wealthiest clients. “The challenge has been finding a one-of-a-kind product that’s just so magical that they have to have it.” The magic was in full effect when one buyer recently told Chang that he bought a property quickly because “I knew one of my friends also wanted the house.”
Forster Jones landed Compass’ highest L.A.-area sale for 2021 with the $44 mil lion purchase of a property dubbed the Brentwood Oasis. She also repped the buyer of a house sold for $9.2 million by Pharrell Williams and holds the nearly $37 million listing on a property in
Rubin and was the co-listing agent on a house that Ted Sarandos and Nicole Avant sold in Malibu for $14.7 million.
TOMER FRIDMAN COMPASS
NEYSHIA GO SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY
Marking her first time on THR ’s list, Go of The Go Group has been a real estate agent for more than a decade, with a mix of clients from the worlds of sports and entertainment. “I have always had a strong affinity for development and attribute more than 60 percent of my business to new-construction sales,”
In the past year, Chukumerije has done $71 million in sales and has repped LaKeith Stanfield, NBA player Lonzo Ball and Terry Crews. “I own several prop erties and want each of my clients to experience the many benefits of home ownership,” he adds, noting that “Black people are falling behind in homeowner ship at just under 45 percent, even with home prices hitting all-time records.”
ForsterChukumerijeCortazzoFentonJonesFridmanGambinoGo
DREW FENTON HILTON & HYLAND
“It is making buyers more circumspect in their purchases,” Cortazzo says of rising interest rates. The Malibu specialist, who has sold more than $1 billion in the past 12 months, recently repped oceanside rental listings for Sandra Bullock and Rick
Bel Air that includes a historic Japanese garden. “When compared to the wild, untamable markets of the last two years, 2022 can seem slow, but we are still experiencing steady activity and inter est,” she says.
$70M
Marguleas does things his own way. “It takes a lot of creativity and staying level headed to guide the deal through,” says the Amalfi Estates founder, who donates 10 percent of every commission to char ity and was a co-listing agent on the Hearst Estate. In a market dominated by mega-agencies, his tight-knit company features a team of just eight agents who did $474 million in sales in 2021. “I really love data,” he enthuses.
MarguleasLawyerHuchelKirmanHohnenHarrisParnes SEPTEMBER 6, 2022THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 62 SUBJECT.OFCOURTESYHEADSHOTS:BARTSCH.JIMLISTING:MARGULEASANGELES.MARCLISTING:ALTMAN Real Estate Style
BRETT LAWYER HILTON & HYLAND
ANTHONY MARGULEAS
JULIETTE HOHNEN DOU GLAS ELLIMAN
JAMES HARRIS AND DAVID PARNES THE AGENCY
The HearstgroundssumptuousoftheEstate,whichsoldatauctiontobillionaireNicolasBerggruen. $63M
HILTON & HYLAND
Kirman — whose Aaron Kirman Group boasts a whopping $15 billion in team career sales — serves clients including Robbie Williams, Ariana Grande and UTA’s
AMALFI ESTATES
Huchel has recently represented every one from Chelsea Handler and Harry Styles to Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis and music exec Justin Lubliner. “Keeping the buyers’ identities private is extremely challenging these days,” he says. “We value their privacy and like to stay low-key.”
JUSTIN PAUL HUCHEL
“You can create whoever you are,” she says. “You can come here with nothing and work very hard and create a good reputation.”
says Go. This year, she sold a home in Beverly Park for $23 million to investor Alex von Furstenberg and is a co-listing agent on two neighboring contempo rary mansions in Bel Air, each priced at $38.5 million. She has a new $20 million listing in Santa Barbara that includes a Lakers-themed half-court.
AARON KIRMAN COMPASS
The founders of The Agency’s Bond Street Partners team have more than $3 billion in career sales and a current listing portfolio in excess of $1 billion.
“As an agent, we’re placing people in what’s probably the most important investment in their entire life,” says Parnes. According to public records, they repped Rihanna, Kevin Durant , Demi Lovato and Big Sean in the past year. The two departed Million Dollar Listing L.A. in April after seven seasons, saying it was “time to move on.”
Greg Cavic and was a co-listing agent on The One, which sold at auction for $141 million to Fashion Nova CEO Richard Saghian this year (after having once been listed at $295 million. “We took a unique approach when selling The One,” says Kirman, star of Listing Impossible on CNBC. “With it being one of the most expensive homes in the world that only a few hundred billionaires can afford, we had to be creative and strategic. We selected our potential buyer pool by creating and executing one of the most comprehensive media campaigns to gar ner attention. By traveling and meeting these billionaires in person, we had over 40 potential buyers tour the home.”
Intensely private, Lawyer is known for his under-the-radar ways that attract clients including Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Tracee Ellis Ross and John Wells. In August, he sold Katy Perry ’s Regencystyle mansion in Beverly Crest for $18 million.
“You have to be completely fearless and just be able to run the deal,” says Hohnen, whose can-do attitude has put her on course to close $200 million in 2022. Recent clients include Rami Malek, Lindsey Buckingham and producer Debbie Liebling. For the London-born Hohnen, L.A. real estate is a wide-open frontier.
The Beverly Hills mansion of Full House ’s Jeff Franklin, listed with the Brothers.Altman
SEPTEMBER 6, 2022THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 64 Style SUBJECT.OFCOURTESYHEADSHOTS:ADDITIONALALMENGO.BRANDONOPPENHEIM:CLINTON.ANGELOTONGUE:MOTHERPHOTOGRAPHY.BERLYNLISTING:HUCHEL&FENTONCOURTESY.ESTATE:AIRBEL Real Estate
JASON OPPENHEIM OPPENHEIM GROUP
O
$10M
LINDA MAY HILTON & HYLAND
n Sept. 20, The Hollywood Reporter will hold the second annual Los Angeles Power Broker Awards at members-only fitness and social club Heimat. The night, presented by luxury real estate PR firm The Society Group, will include a dinner honoring the powerhouse sellers on THR ’s Top 30 List, followed by an awards presentation. The honors are sponsored by spatial styling company ASH Staging and the real estate social app REAL Messenger. Said Angel Salvador last year, a winner at the 2021 inaugural awards, “To get the recognition amongst your peers is special.” The nominees: Stratospheric Sale (for a major single sale): Aaron Kirman , Kurt Rappaport , Branden and Rayni
Even by L.A. standards, Mills has a track record of handling listings at eyepopping prices, like the $99.5 million Malibu estate she listed in March for Yellowstone actress Barret Swatek and her husband, former hedge fund manager Adam Weiss. Mills is bullish on L.A. real estate. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she says, “people were moving to places outside the city, and now we’re seeing them all wanting to move back.” Mills has recently repped Todd Phillips, Brooke Shields and Sylvester Stallone and in June co-listed an $18 million Encino spread for Alyson Hannigan
Chef Michael Mina’s restaurant Mother Tongue at Heimat.
OppenheimRappaportReyMillsMay
THR’s L.A. Power Broker Awards Return Sept. 20
KU RT RAPPAPORT WESTSIDE E STATE AGENCY
Since co-founding WEA in 1999, Rappaport has helped grow it into the largest privately held brokerage on the West Coast, with offices in Beverly Hills and Malibu (plus Miami). Rappaport’s sales are consistently stratospheric, and his client list has recently included Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi, Adam Levine, Sylvester Stallone and Patrick Whitesell. In October, he repped both sides of the deal in billionaire Marc Andreessen’s $177 million purchase of a Malibu compound (the second-biggest sale nationwide in 2021). His listings include Mark Wahlberg’s $87 million Beverly Park manse and Michael Eisner ’s $225 million Malibu compound.
Since the premiere of the Netflix reality smash Selling Sunset in 2019, Oppenheim has become something of a fixture in tab loid headlines, even as he continues to rep such clients as Tyrese, French Montana, Zedd, Alesso and Tinder’s Sean Rad. After opening an Oppenheim Group office in Newport Beach in 2021, Oppenheim sold more than $140 million in Orange County that year and has launched a spinoff, Selling the O.C. The castmembers in the L.A. office are currently filming seasons
six and seven of Selling Sunset. “I just wrote an offer last week on a place for myself,” says Oppenheim, a firm optimist on the L.A. market, “if that tells you how I feel about things.”
ChrisPhilanthropicWilliamsImpactCortazzo
Rey has a decades-long reputation as one of the most trusted, successful agents in Beverly Hills, with more than $6 billion in career sales. “One of the most exciting houses I sold last year was John Legend and Chrissy Teigen’s very chic Beverly Hills home with exquisite decor, which
JADE MILLS COLDWELL BANKER
, Anthony Marguleas ,
JOYCE REY COLDWELL BANKER
Rising KatharineStarCattaneo (Sotheby’s International Realty), Jacob Greene (Douglas Elliman), Marco Salari (Coldwell Banker), Kevin Stewart (The Agency), Caroline Wolf (Compass)
Joyce CelebrityReyProperty Portfolio (to a trusted agent of Hollywood clients): Tomer Fridman James Harris and David Parnes , Branden and Rayni Williams Agent of Historic Architecture (for an agent who puts special care into deals for venerable residences): Drew Fenton , Linda May, Jade Mills Media Maverick (for innovative marketing): Josh and Matt Altman , Rochelle Atlas Maize, Umansky Team
The Bel Air estate of late actress Yvette Mimieux, which was bought by TinderSeanco-founderRad.
$35M
Drew Fenton and Justin Paul Huchel held the listing for this Beverly Hills house bought by Nicole Richie and Joel Madden.
“I’ve seen it all!” says May, who boasts more than 30 years in the industry. “My favorite part is having the opportunity to see so many incredible properties. It is always such a treat to walk into a home and say, ‘Wow!’ ” This year, she was the co-listing agent on the estate bought by Kevin Feige; was one of the brokers who represented billionaire Nicolas Berggruen in his $63.1 million purchase at auction of the Hearst Estate; and, along with agents Jade Mills and Kurt Rappaport , sold the historic Yvette Mimieux estate for $35 million to Tinder’s Sean Rad.
The Power Broker Awards are chosen by THR editors and based on sales numbers and the prestige of properties listed and sold.
AGENT HONORS
included his wonderful piano,” says Rey, who represented the buyer in the $16.8 million deal. Her listings include the $37.5 million estate of the late Dino and Martha De Laurentiis
Keeping it all in the family is a winning strategy for The Shevin Team, which con sistently nets major sales in Calabasas and Hidden Hills. Helmed by Marc Shevin and daughter Sara Shevin, the team has recently repped Kris Jenner and was listing brokers on homes bought by Shay Mitchell, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, and Sean McVay.
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES CALIFORNIA PROPERTIES
The listing price of Michael Eisner’s compound in Malibu, designed by Robert A.M. Stern and set on 5 acres.
COMPASS
“I grew up in L.A. and went from the music business to real estate, and it somehow felt like a natural move. It’s a business that makes you very in touch with the city,” says Wilson. “I have known many of my clients my entire life.” His clients this year have included Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Ted Sarandos and Nicole Avant and Trevor Noah. The key to working with celebrities? “Make it look easy, make it happen and do it quietly.”
$141M
$177M
$250M
TRACY TUTOR DOU GLAS ELLIMAN
The Agency’s Umansky Team is a fam ily affair — it consists of The Agency co-founder Mauricio Umansky and four family members. “Being able to work together every day … I couldn’t ask for
M. Umanksy
Closing price of a 6,301-square-foot unit at West Hollywood’s Pendry Residences, the costliest condo sold so far in 2022.
“Every client I come into contact with is completely unique from the last — there fore, my job is never static or boring,” says the Million Dollar Listing L.A. star, who did $300 million in sales in the past year. “I had the opportunity to represent two dual female CEOs of a publicly traded company [FIGS health-care apparel] to purchase two Westside homes total ing over $80 million,” says Tutor, whose clients bought a spread formerly owned by Norman Lear. “It was an honor. Seeing women rise in entertainment and busi ness to levels I could only imagine drives me to work harder.”
Since founding their brokerage The Beverly Hills Estates in 2020, the husband-and-wife duo have become a juggernaut, with more than $1.1 billion in sales in the past 12 months. In March, they repped both sides of the deal on the record-breaking $141 million auction sale of The One. The pair also recently repped both sides of the sale of a $42 million property in Trousdale Estates. “These two were fabulous sales that were view properties with architecture and loca tion. They will become landmark sales as they cannot be replicated,” says Rayni Williams. Recent clients have included UTA’s Jeremy Zimmer, Drake, Pharrell Williams and Ron Burkle.
UMANSKY TEAM THE AGENCY
THE SHEVIN TEAM
SMITH & B ERG PARTNERS
The final auction price of the 21-bedroom The One house in Bel Air, the largest on-market deal of the past 12 months.
B. Williams R.
M.SmithBergShevinSalvador
The L.A. Market’s Biggest Numbers
BRANDEN AND RAYNI WILLIAMS THE BEVERLY H ILLS ESTATES
$21.5M
The Smith & Berg Partners team — who last year sold Shelley Hack ’s Santa Monica home for $2.58 million above its asking price of $8.85 million — have been busy in 2022 with clients like basketball star Blake Griffin and HBO Sports commenta tor Larry Merchant. Headquartered in Brentwood and led by F. Ron Smith and David Berg, the real estate team — which
$4.4M
JONAH WILSON HILTON & HYLAND
The One megamansion clocks in at 105,000 square feet of living space, set on 3.8 acres.
Kirsten Chuba and Evan Nicole Brown contributed to this report.
AN GEL SALVADOR THE BEVERLY H ILLS ESTATES
anything more,” says stepdaughter and team member Farrah Brittany. “We have such a great dynamic — obviously it’s not always perfect because of that family dynamic.” That interplay will be on full display on Buying Beverly Hills, a Netflix show following the team that premieres this fall. The team recently repped the seller of a house bought by David Spade for $13.85 million and are the co-listing agents for a $32 million property owned by Botched star Dr. Paul Nassif
A broker of choice for high-profile music clients, Salvador made his first appear ance on THR ’s Top 30 list in 2021 after he helped The Weeknd snap up a $70 million estate in Bel Air. “He toured the property and fell in love with it,” he says. Salvador, whose client list has included Doja Cat , record producer Metro Boomin and Swae Lee, also listed a $22.5 million Westwood condo for The Weeknd this year.
Cost of billionaire Marc Andreessen’s new 13-structure Malibu property, which he bought in fall 2021.
Style SEPTEMBER 6, 2022THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 66 SUBJECT.OFCORUTESYHEADSHOTS:FRIEDMAN.DOUGLASONE:THEFOCUS.NEUELISTING:MAIZEATLAS Real Estate
Rochelle Atlas Maize repped the buyer of a house in Malibu sold by Emma Stone that went for $200K above asking.
sold $641 million in the past 12 months — is one of the few in Los Angeles with its own flagship office. “The combination of a neighborly environment and the ability to find serenity in a bustling city is what makes the Westside unique,” says Smith.
WilsonWilliamsTutor
